Forbidden Kisses
by Just-Redd
Summary: James Sirius Potter/Teddy Lupin fanfiction!
1. Chapter 1 A Christmas Kiss

It was a cold winters night on the 24th of December 2021 but the Potters and the Weasleys were all safe and warm inside. The wind was blowing non stop making a howling noise outside. All of the inhabitants of the Burrow were in the living room toasting to life and placing presents under the enormous Christmas tree situated in the corner of the room.

Everyone apart from James Sirius Potter that is. James was sat at the kitchen table a book of 1001 uses for Troll Toenails open lazily in front of him. He wasn't reading it, he had no need to. He had passed his O. without lifting a finger and James had decided that is exactly what he would do with his N.E.. He was only continuing with his school work because Teddy wanted him to. James had already been talented spotted by the Quidditch team, Puddlemere United.

The kitchen was lit only by a few candles hastily placed here and there making the Christmas cards and decorations hanging down from the walls or ceiling glitter in a small pool of light. James sighed and slammed the book shut and threw it to the side with all the other books and other pieces of parchment he had been pretending to read.

The back door in the Weasleys kitchen suddenly swung open, a figure standing in the doorway clinging onto a few bags. Teddy Lupin managed to close the door, bags still in hand, without letting too much snow into the room.

He smiled as he noticed James sitting at the table.

"Hi, James." Teddy wandered over to the table and placed down the bags on the small space that James had left.

"Don't call me James." he snapped "It's Jem. Or Jamie. But never James."

Teddy looked startled at Jem's sudden out burst. Jem normally acted cool and casual. This knew snappy Jem had caught Teddy off guard.

"Oh, okay, sorry…Jem." Teddy apologized and sat down in the empty seat next to Jem's. He picked up a book and stared.

"What's this? The famous James Potter actually revising?" Teddy commented cocking an eyebrow.

"Jem! And of course not. I just want Dad to think I am." Jem said, leaning back in his chair.

Teddy winked "Gotcha."

The older man then stood up and started to remove his coat. Teddy was dressed in a simple purple t-shirt with short sleeves with a single white line running around his collar and the cuffs on his t-shirt and some old tattered jeans. His feet were clad in ordinary black sneakers that he nearly always wore.

Jem smiled. His dress sense was something Victoire couldn't change about Teddy.

Ever since Teddy had started dating Victoire little over five years ago nearly everything about him had changed. Especially his appearance. Teddy was now normally seen with bright, silky blonde hair, piercing blue eyes and pointed features. Fleur Weasley said it made them look so adorable when Teddy and Victoire were together. Jem said in made them look like they were about to inbreed.

Today, nothing was different. Teddy's hair was still blonde and his eyes and facial features were still the same as Victoire's but in a male version. Jem, still, didn't like it.

It was then that Harry Potter walked into the room clutching a glass of butter bear. At the age of forty-one, Harry didn't look too bad. His hair was going slightly grey at the roots and he was developing small wrinkles around his eyes but Harry was still as skinny and tall as ever.

Harry grinned, spotting Teddy.

"Ted!" Harry made his way over to Teddy and gave him a manly hug placing his glass on top of Jem's copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to find Them. "Good to see you!"

Teddy pulled away from the manly hug and placed his fashionable black coat (or as Albus Potter liked to call it 'Teddy's camp coat') over the side of a chair.

"Good to see you too, Harry."

"Why don't you come and join us in the living room? Everyone's dying to see you!" Harry asked gesturing towards the living room door.

"Sure, why not." Teddy turned to leave with his God father picking up his bags as he went he got to the middle of the room and then turned round, "Hey, Jem, are you coming?" His eyes looked hopeful and for a second flashed their original green colour that Jem missed so much.

Jem nodded standing up. He couldn't pretend to be studying any longer. Especially since it was Christmas Eve. He followed Teddy and his Dad into the living room where a wave of people launched themselves onto the new arrival.

Teddy was hugged, kissed, patted, squeezed, thumped and everything else that was a sign of greeting in the Weasley/Potter households. The last to get to him was Victoire. She stood on her tip toes and kissed Teddy on the mouth and for a moment, Jem didn't know if he was imagining or not, Teddy looked momentarily disgusted.

Several more chairs had been placed in the room and along with the other settees, arm chairs, rocking chairs and stools everyone managed to sit down apart from a few of the younger ones who had sat on the floor purposely.

Teddy had sat on one of the settees and had invited Jem to join him. Victoire sat on his other side which upset Jem because it meant he would have to play gooseberry.

Jem cleared the room with his eyes. Nearly all of his family were there. Grand-ma Weasley, Grand-dad Weasley, Mum, Dad, Albus, Lily, Aunty Hermione and Uncle Ron with Rose and Hugo, Uncle George and Aunt Angelina with Fred and Roxanne, Uncle Percy and Aunt Audrey with Molly and Lucy, Uncle Charlie and Uncle Bill and Auntie Fleur with Victoire, Dominique and Louis.

The room was incredibly crowded, but it was like this every Christmas so Jem was used to it by now.

Teddy's bags had been taken off him and unloaded adding even more presents to the Christmas tree which was completely surrounded already. All the presents sparkled in their wrappings by the light of the candles. Jem, like all seventeen year olds, had grown out of the idea of Father Christmas over eleven years ago but Christmas presents still excited him.

As the evening wore on the chatter got more and more slurred. The grown ups were on what seemed like their millionth round of butter bear and even some of the younger ones had started giggling and hiccupping. Victoire, being who she was, never got drunk nor tipsy. Teddy had also refrained from getting hammered as well. However, Jem, being a typical seventeen year old, had got absolutely smashed.

He was laughing and giggling and telling the most random stories, most of them very crude. Victoire was glaring at him, a look of extreme disapproval in her eyes.

"Look at him, Ted!" she pointed out a slight French twang in her accent. "Why do his parents let him get like this, hmm?"

Teddy looked at Victoire cocking his head to one side.

"Jem's an adult now, they can't exactly stop him. Anyway, it's Christmas, give the poor guy a break," Teddy snapped at her "Come to think of it, all you do it complain about him whenever you see him!"

Victoire looked shocked, Teddy never stood up to her. She could easily stand up to him and watch in delight as he apologised over and over again for something he never needed to apologise for but it had never been the other way round before. She raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms across her chest. Victoire was wearing a small black dress, some patterned tights and a pair of strappy high heels. Her blonde hair was curled around her shoulders and her make up had been done to perfection, her eyelashes caked in so much mascara that they touched her eyebrows whenever her eyes were open. This extreme eyelash look wasn't a good one but no one dared tell her that.

Teddy turned back to Jem who was now telling some story about some muggle woman running up naked to him in a street and begging him for sex once.

"And then she-" Jem slurred before Teddy interrupted.

"RIGHT! I think that's enough, don't you?" Teddy bellowed over the moans of several drunk voices. "Come on, bed, now!"

Some of the more sober adults nodded in agreement and dragged their spouses and children off to bed leaving Teddy to deal with Jem. Victoire had gone off in a huff, flouncing out of the room with a scowl on her pretty face. Teddy sighed, it was going to take a lot of apologising to get her to forgive him. But deep down Teddy felt that maybe he didn't want her to…

No, he was being stupid. He loved Victoire…

Teddy dragged Jem off the settee, slinging an arm around his athletic body in an attempt to get him upstairs. The Burrow had been extended by several stories so now there was room for everyone. Teddy pulled Jem up the stairs to the second floor listening to Jem's drunken rambling.

"-and women! Honestly! They say one thing and mean another! They don't make any sense to me!" Jem ranted as Teddy opened the door to a spare bedroom where Jem's trunk stood at the end of a metal bed.

Teddy helped Jem out of his clothes and into some clean boxers resisting the temptation to run his hands over Jem's muscular frame. How could somebody be so slim and narrow but yet so muscular?

"-and all they do is moan, moan, moan. Especially the French." Jem hiccupped and Teddy pushed him down onto his bed where Jem buried himself under the duvet.

Teddy smiled at the thought of what Jem's hang over was going to be like the next day. Of course, someone will have brewed up a whole cauldron full of Hangover potion since it would be Christmas day. He went to the door, magically blew the candle out and was about to shut the door when he heard.

"I don't like women…prefer men…they make more sense…I love you, Teddy." Jem slurred before falling instantly into a deep sleep.

And deep, deep, deep down inside of Teddy a voice called out. _I love you too._

_ *****_

On Christmas Day 2021 nearly everyone awoke with a hangover. They opened their bedroom doors to find a small vial of Hangover potion on the floor and they drank it gratefully.

Teddy Lupin had taken it upon himself to brew the potion since he knew that most of the adults would be too hung-over to or enjoyed watching other people suffer. The vials had been placed outside the rooms at about seven in the morning and most people found theirs two to three hours later.

Teddy had been slaving away in the kitchen, preparing breakfast for everyone. He kept it warm, or indeed cold, magically while he waited for them to wake up. He picked up that morning's edition of the Daily Prophet that had been left outside by an owl at a ridiculous time. The headline blared out 'GRINGOTTS GOING BANKRUPT?' but Teddy knew this was un-true because Charlie had explained that it was just a publicity stunt since the Daily Prophet was slowly losing readers.

He got absorbed into the pages, the lies, the stupid-ness of it all and jumped, knocking over a carton of milk, when the kitchen door swung open to reveal Jem.

His messy black hair was handsomely sticking up all over the place and his hazel eyes were getting less blood-shot by the second. Jem was still dressed only in his boxers.

"Merry Christmas, Teddy." Jem said cheerfully. Teddy suspected that without the Hangover potion Jem wouldn't be quite so cheerful. "Thanks for the Hangover potion, by the way. I'm guessing it was you who put it outside my door."

Teddy nodded "Merry Christmas to you too, Jame-Jem! And, yes it was me. Breakfast?"

Jem smiled "Just some toast please."

Teddy handed Jem a plate full of warm toast and a mug of tea with milk and two sugars, just how Jem liked it.

Jem sat at the table and began to munch his toast. Teddy joined him smiling as he drank his cup of coffee.

"So, do we have to wait for everyone else before we can open presents?" Jem asked spitting crumbs all over the table.

"I'm afraid so." Teddy said chuckling at the face Jem pulled. "Would you like it if they opened their presents without you?"

Jem thought about it for a second, "No, probably not."

Jem looked Teddy up and down, noticing something was different but he couldn't put his finger on it. Suddenly, it clicked.

"Hey, your hair's turquoise again! And your eyes are their original green colour too!"

It was true. Teddy no longer looked like a male version of Victoire. He had gone back to looking like his old self.

Teddy nodded, blushing "Yeah, do you like it?"

Jem smiled "I love it! I never did understand why you wanted to look like Victoire anyway. She looks like a lemon." Teddy laughed as Jem sucked in his cheeks and crossed his eyes. And something inside Teddy twisted, like a knot. Jem was still adorable when he was impersonating a lemon.

Jem finished his toast and tea and Teddy stood up to take it away his hand momentarily brushing Jem's as he took the plate and mug. He felt a warm butterfly like movement flutter in his stomach and he gasped. The green eyes met the hazel ones and sudden realisation finally struck both men. But no…it couldn't be…could it?

Teddy jerked his head away and placed the dirty dishes in the sink were a dishcloth started to clean them. He ignored the feeling in his stomach and looked for something to distract him, but he couldn't. Jem was still staring at him and it was a little unnerving…but he liked it.

Jem coughed and suddenly found his finger nails very interesting.

"So, err, am I the only person that still calls you Teddy?" Jem asked staring at his nails.

"Yeah, I think so. Everyone else calls me 'Ted' ." Teddy replied staring at the floor.

Jem looked up "Do you want me to call you 'Ted'?"

Teddy smiled and shook his head "No, you can be special. You're the only one that's allowed to call me 'Teddy'"

"I prefer Teddy anyway. Ted makes you sound old and boring." Jem said turning back to his fingers but laughed when he looked up to see Teddy turn into an old man with little white wisps of hair, a crooked back, knobbly knees and think bony hands.

"Get off my lawn, you whippersnappers!" Teddy said raising a wrinkly arm and shaking his fist at the imaginary youths.

Jem giggled "Watch out, Teddy, you did that a little too well!"

Teddy morphed back to his original self giggling.

Teddy and Jem mucked about, chatted and enjoyed each others company for a glorious half hour before others started to join them down stairs. As soon as everybody had eaten their breakfast and thanked Teddy for the Hangover potion it was about mid-day. Then they all made their way into the living room for the hour long task of exchange gifts.

Nobody that year had to act like they liked their gifts. Everybody got what they wanted, or indeed, didn't ask for but loved anyway. Jem had received several books on Quidditch, who he loved so much and it was his biggest passion in the entire world apart from…Jem shook his head trying to rid himself of the thought. He had also received some Weasley Wizard Wheezes merchandise from George and Angelina, odd bits of old heir looms from Grand-ma and Grand-dad Weasley including a photo album of moving pictures and an old quill, some books from Percy and Audrey which Jem had no intention of reading but would help him on his quest to fool everyone into thinking he was actually revising, some dragon hide gloves and boots from Uncle Charlie, a new broom stick from his Mum, Dad, Lily and Albus which must of cost hundreds of galleons, several other bits of brick-a-brack and some really fancy dress robes from Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur…

Teddy, being a trainee healer had received hundreds of books on the subject, some money and some really fancy dress robes from Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur which made Teddy look absolutely horrified. They weren't horrible dress robes, he wasn't being forced to wear them and they weren't cheap as far as Jem could see, so what was the problem?

The present giving and receiving went on longer than they had expected and Jem had found himself glaring at Victoire with pure hatred in his eyes more than several times now. He had never liked his cousin. He had always found her stuck up and bossy. And she had never liked him, she found him messy and down right irritating.

But there was something venomous about his glare this time that Jem just didn't understand. There was also a voice in his head shouting out insults whenever the chance passed him. Victoire had received a beautiful dress which Jem found himself saying 'Make you even more of a slut' under his breath, quiet enough that only Teddy seemed to hear.

At about two o'clock the present giving had to paused due to the fact that if they didn't have lunch soon they would all die of starvation.

Everyone ate huge mounds of Grand-ma Weasley's cooking since everyone found it delicious. Everyone apart from Victoire that was.

"I don't want to put any weight on." She commented winking at Teddy who didn't know what the hell was going on and looked startled at the gesture. "I want to look lovely and skinny." She smiled, excitement in her eyes.

A few of the grown ups got what she was on about. Mostly the women.

"She wants to look nice for the wedding." Rose had whispered to a confused looking Albus.

"What wedding?" Albus asked looking up at Rose.

"Her own."

"But, Teddy hasn't proposed yet, has he?"

Rose shook her head and carried on explaining what Victoire was probably thinking in a hushed whisper to Albus.

Jem had caught a bit of the conversation and had to excuse himself to the toilet as he felt physically sick. Teddy? Propose?! Jem wiped some tears away from his eyes. Tears of frustration he had told himself.

He had returned to the table about five minutes later and sat picking moodily at his food. He wasn't hungry anymore. And by the looks of it neither was Teddy.

Nobody noticed that they weren't eating apart from Victoire who thought that they wanted to look slim too so she said nothing.

Around about half past three the present giving had started again. Jem had sat moodily in an armchair in the corner of the room a book about 'How to polish your broomstick' opened in front of his face. Unfortunately, Teddy and Victoire and chosen to sit on the settee right next to him.

Teddy had given Victoire a beautiful, silver necklace in the shape of a butterfly which Victoire absolutely loved and had demanded that he put it on her right away.

Jem had kept making remarks under his breath, most of them inaudible but Teddy, having fantastic hearing, heard most of them.

When Victoire had been passed a huge box of Mrs. Miller's Self Applying Make up Jem made a huge mistake.

"Yeah, make you look more of a slapper than you already are."

Jem had said this a little too loudly. Everyone had turned to stare at him, Victoire with a look of hurt on her face. Jem had blushed so hard that he resembled a tomato.

Teddy had stood up glaring down at Jem "A word, please, James." Teddy had said this with so much venom, his hair turning an unbelievable shade of red, that Jem didn't dare argue.

Jem was dragged by Teddy into the kitchen where he stood in disgrace while Teddy glared at him.

"What's wrong with you today?!"

Jem didn't answer, he stared at the floor his hands writhing in his pockets.

"All you've done is offend Victoire today!" Teddy shouted, "And I know you don't much care for her but you've never been like this before!"

Jem continued to look at the floor, tears forming in his eyes. He had always hated being shouted at by Teddy.

"LOOK AT ME, JAMES!"

Jem didn't look up. He couldn't. It was very rare that he did but when Teddy was angry, the last thing you wanted to do was to look at him. His eyes usually turned a violent shade of red and his hair normally turned the same colour. Teddy looked so threatening like this that nobody dared ever stare.

"Oh forget it!" Teddy shouted finally and made his way to the door where a hand stopped him.

Jem had grabbed onto Teddy's arm, stopping him from leaving. The hand didn't feel angry nor out of place. Teddy stared at the hand feeling deep inside that was where the hand belonged.

"Teddy, I-" Jem had started but had chocked. Teddy looked up, letting go of the door knob and had been horrified to see that Jem was crying. His face immediately softened. Teddy's hair became his original shade of brown and his eyes had gone back to being green. He turned round to face Jem the hand still on his arm.

"Teddy, I…" Jem tried again, "I…" He stopped and sighed "I'm jealous of her."

For the second time that day the hazel eyes met the green ones. Teddy hated seeing Jem cry. He always had. Even when they were younger Teddy had always tried to get Jem to stop crying. He once told him that he could eat sadness and had gone round opening and closing his mouth for about six months afterwards whenever Jem was in the room.

"I love you, Teddy." Jem had whispered a tear rolling down his cheek.

Teddy had been thrown off guard. What did he do now? He didn't want to upset Jem. He didn't want to hurt him.

So he did what he felt was right.

Teddy lifted a hand and gently brushed away the single tear, pulling Jem's in at the same time. Their lips met and an explosion surged it's way through Jem. The kiss was so soft, so beautiful but so passionate at the same time.

Jem reached up and gently placed his arms round Teddy's neck pulling the kiss in deeper his tongue penetrating Teddy's mouth. Teddy had snaked his arms round Jem's waist where they felt they belonged.

Jem, unexpectedly, pulled away.

"Teddy--"

"Jem," Teddy whispered back his hair turning turquoise, the colour that he associated with happiness, "Shut the fuck up and kiss me."

So Jem did what he was told.


	2. Chapter 2

Teddy and Jem hadn't seen each other since Christmas day. On boxing day Teddy had gone back to his and Victoire's flat in London and had started work again. And on the third of January Jem went back to Hogwarts.

Jem had sent several letters to Teddy, some much longer than others. He had never received a reply. Teddy knew what was expected of him. He was expected to marry Victoire and become a proper member of the family. He doubted that the Potters and Weasleys would have a problem with him being gay but the look of disappointment on their faces when they knew that Teddy would never be apart of the family was almost unbearable for him to think of.

But the February half term holidays were coming up soon and Teddy knew that Jem would want to see him.

It was the eighth of February and Jem was in his dormitory staring blankly out the window. The Gryffindor common room was packed full of people chatting and gossiping and he had gotten tired of it. Jem sat alone on his bed thinking about what had happened and what was yet to come.

The door of the dormitory swung open and Jem's best friend Robert Ferguson wandered into the room. Rob sat down on the end of Jem's bed.

"Jamie," Rob started, "What's up? Ever since the Christmas holidays you've been weird and distant. Normally you would have been down there in the middle of it all." He gestured towards the dormitory door.

"Rob, I'm fine." Jem muttered not taking his eyes off the scenery outside the window.

"No you're not, Jamie."

Jem sighed and turned around to face his friend.

"Look, I really don't want to talk about it."

"So there is something wrong!" Rob smiled triumphantly his blue eyes twinkling with delight.

"Not wrong, no." Jem picked at his fingernails wishing Rob would just leave him alone.

Rob smile faded leaving the blonde haired boy to look slightly concerned.

"What's so bad that you can't tell me?"

"Nothing. It's just…" Jem hesitated, he didn't feel like opening up to Rob about what he was feeling.

"What, Jem?"

"It's not important."

Jem and Rob had been best friends ever since they met. They had met on the school train on the first day of school and had been inseparable since.

"It's important to me!" Rob scowled trying to read Jem. Normally Rob could read Jem like an open book but not today.

Jem ran his hand through his messy black hair making it stand up on end even more. He sighed and jumped off the bed.

Rob's scowl disappeared and was replaced by a smile. The same smile that terrified teachers, the same smile that made young children quiver, the same smile that meant Rob was feeling mischievous.

Jem looked up, surprised to see The Smile on Rob's face.

"What?"

"Jem," Rob started still grinning, "Are you in love?"

Jem's face turned a perfect shade of white. He knew Rob was smart but he hadn't expected him to guess so quickly.

"N-n-no. No! No, of course not!" Jem turned to face the window and stared out at the Black Lake. He had never been much good at lying. At least, not to his friends.

Rob jumped off the bed and joined Jem by the window. "You are, aren't you!"

Jem shook his head, he honestly didn't know what it was. But it was confusing, difficult, overpowering.

Rob didn't care what Jem said. He started dancing around the room laughing.

"Jem's in love! Jem's in love!" He continued this in a sing song voice for about thirty seconds before Jem lost his rag.

"SHUT UP, ROB!" Jem roared causing Rob to stop instantly. Jem hardly ever lost his temper with Rob so it was a shock to everybody when he did.

Jem sat back down on the bed, breathing deeply. Rob, silent now, joined him on the end.

"Well? Who is she?"

Jem remained silent. He ran a list of names of girls that he knew through his head. Problem was, they all had boyfriends.

"Hello? Who is she?" Rob pestered.

Jem didn't know what to say. How come all the girls he knew had boyfriends? Typical.

"WHO IS SHE?! WHO IS SHE?! WHO IS SHE?! WHO IS SHE?! WHO IS SHE?! WHO IS SHE?!" Rob shouted growing bored of his friend's unresponsiveness.

"TEDDY LUPIN!" Jem roared once again losing his temper. As soon as he had said this, he regretted it. Rob's face went from glee to as pale as a ghost.

"But, he's a bloke."

Jem looked up, tears of frustration in his eyes. "Figured that out for myself, thanks."

The boys sat in silence, neither knowing what to say to the other. Jem was wishing it was all a dream and he'd wake up in a minute drowning in his own sweat. But it wasn't a dream and Jem wasn't going to wake up from it.

*****

It was the day before Valentines day and Teddy Lupin sat with a book propped open in front of him. He stared at the pages blankly. He was sat at his kitchen table in his and Victoire's flat in London. They had moved there just before Christmas but it looked like they'd been living there for much longer. Cabinets were covered in pictures of family members, good friends and others. But one of them had been placed down so you could no longer see the person occupying it. Teddy had done this to Jem's moving picture as soon as he had gotten back to the flat on boxing day and it hadn't moved since. Teddy stood up and wandered over to the photo and picked up it up. The mini Jem waved and smiled at him and he smiled back. Jem would be home by now, surely. Maybe he could go…No, Teddy told himself firmly. He's with Victoire. He loves Victoire. And if this went any further than a kiss…

The front door of the flat opened and Teddy dropped the picture back onto the cabinet. Victoire floated in, closing the door behind her.

"Hi." Victoire smiled at Teddy and went to the kitchen to put away the shopping the had just bought.

"Yeah, hi." Teddy replied gathering up his Healer Training books and placing them back on the bookshelf.

He ran both hands over his face and through his hair plopping himself down on the small beige settee. He sighed and held his head in his hands. This gesture didn't go unnoticed by Victoire.

"Rough day?" She asked handing Teddy a glass of wine and sitting herself down next to him.

Teddy nodded and sipped the wine. He had never liked wine, he much preferred butter bear. He remembered his seventeenth birthday when Jem, Albus and Lily (especially Jem) had insisted on giving him a crate full it. He didn't really remember much after receiving that crate.

Victoire snuggled into Teddy's torso and he gingerly placed an arm round her bony shoulder while she swung her legs up onto the settee.

"Just don't forget what day it is tomorrow, m'kay?" Victoire took another sip of wine and the placed her glass on the table.

Valentines day. The only day that Teddy dreaded.

"I won't."

*****

Meanwhile at the Potter household.

"MUM! WHERE'S MY WAND?!"

"HOW SHOULD I KNOW, ALBUS?!"

"LILY, WHERE'S MY WAND?!"

"I DON'T KNOW! WHY DO YOU ALWAYS THINK I KNOW WHERE YOUR SHIT IS?!"

"DON'T USE LANGUAGE LIKE THAT MY HOUSE, YOUNG LADY!"

"IT'S NOT YOUR HOUSE, MUM! IT'S IN DAD'S NAME!"

"HARRY! TELL LILY NOT TO USE VULGAR LANGUAGE IN _YOUR_ HOUSE!"

"LILY! LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER!"

"JEM, WHERE'S MY WAND?!"

"I ASSUME YOUR _WAND _IT'S IN YOUR BOXERS, AL!"

"JAMES POTTER!"

"SORRY MUM!"

"MUM CAN YOU PLEASE TELL JEM THAT HE'S AN ARROGANT TWAT!"

"MUM CAN YOU PLEASE TELL AL THAT HE'S A LITTLE GIT!"

"GINNY CAN YOU TELL EVERYONE TO SHUT THE HELL UP I'M TRYING TO WORK!"

"WHY DON'T YOU TELL THEM TO SHUT UP, HARRY?!"

"TRYING TO WORK!"

"HASN'T AFFECTED YOUR SPEECH SO FAR, HAS IT, LOVE?!"

"EVERYONE, SHUT UP!"

And on this occasion is was Lily, the smallest and youngest out of the lot of them, who got the last word.

Jem was sat at his desk, in his room, in his house, in Godric's Hollow where he lived. But even though he lived there Jem couldn't feel less at home. He had never felt at home here. It wasn't that he didn't love his family, he did (with the exception of Albus) it's just he loved someone else more. Jem only ever felt at home when Teddy was there with him, wherever that may be.

In Jem's hand was a photograph of a smiley, six year old Teddy Lupin with baby Jem in his arms. That day Teddy had had bottle green hair and electric blue eyes. Jem looked so small, so wrinkly and so adorable nestled in Teddy's arms that Harry had insisted on taking a photo.

He placed the photo to the side of the desk and picked up is quill, a pot of ink and piece of parchment. He addressed it to Teddy Lupin and then settled himself to write. But he had run out of things to say. The amount of letters that he had sent to Teddy meant there was nothing more to say. Except…

When Jem had finished the letter it read:

_Dear Teddy,_

_I love you._

_Jem x_

Jem sighed and scrunched the parchment up into a ball and threw it to the side where it landed on the floor. Teddy was avoiding him anyway, so what was the point? He stood up and lay down on his bed and stared at the ceiling. He heard a crunching noise as he lay down and he pulled an envelope out from under his pillow. It had arrived late the previous night and Jem had shoved it under pillow with a mental note to read it tomorrow. He opened it and took out the letter. It read:

_Jamie,_

_You're not avoiding me are you? I really don't have a problem with you being a pouf, you know. I never got to see you before we broke up for half term (possibly because you were avoiding me like you would dragon pox)_ _so I didn't have a chance to tell you._

_From Rob._

Well that was good news. As long as Jem had someone to talk to he wasn't going to launch into self destruct mode.

He swore to write a reply to Rob, tomorrow.

Suddenly the door opened and Lily came in.

"Go away." Jem groaned before Lily even had a chance to say something.

"Charming!" Lily sat down on Jem's desk chair with her most serious look on her face. Her brilliant red hair had been pulled back into a high ponytail and her side fringe hung over her bottle green, right eye like a curtain.

"Jem, what's up? You've been acting odd since around Christmas."

"Lil, I've already had this conversation with Rob and it did not end particularly well. I don't wish to repeat it." Jem answered while continuing to stare at the ceiling.

Lily fell silent and looked round the room. She wasn't done with him yet.

Several minutes passed and Jem's eyes didn't budge from the ceiling. Lily turned and saw Jem's scrunched up letter to Teddy.

"What's this? A letter Jem couldn't be bothered to send, maybe?" Lily began to open it.

"NO!" Jem launched at her but she was strong for such a small girl and she held him back while she opened it. He made several attempts to seize the parchment but failed. Lily read the letter and her eyebrows rose in mild astonishment.

"Well, who would have thought? My brother, a pouf." Lily, honestly, didn't sound completely surprised by this. She screw the letter back up and dropped in the bin.

Jem stood there and stared.

"Do Mum and Dad know?" Lily asked.

Jem shook his head. They didn't know, and he planned to keep it that way.

"Does he know?"

He nodded. Jem sat himself down on the bed and placed his head in his hands. Lily sat down next to him and placed an arm round his shoulders.

"What did he do when he found out?" She asked rubbing her hand up and down his arm in a comforting manner. Jem muttered something inaudible back.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"He kissed me…" Jem muttered quietly.

Lily's mouth dropped open. "He did not!"

"He did." Jem's voice had gone hoarse.

"Wow."

"You're not going to tell anyone, are you?" Jem asked his younger sister.

"Not unless you want me to, which, by the looks of it, you don't."

Jem and Lily had always got on. When they were younger they used to play for hours outside. They had always understood each other. However, Jem had never gotten on with his younger brother. He and Albus were constantly at each other's throats which had been the beginning of many arguments in the household

"I'll leave you to your thoughts then." Lily stood up and left, closing the door behind her.

Jem didn't even bother getting undressed. He pulled his duvet around himself and went straight to sleep dreaming, all night, of Teddy Lupin.

*****

"Jem. Jem. Jem. Jem. JEM!" Lily roared in her brother's ear.

Jem jumped. "WHAT?!"

"You gonna eat that?" She asked gesturing to an untouched croissant on Jem's plate. Jem shook his head and pushed it towards her.

She took it and started buttering it. "Thanks. That's what I hate about Valentines day. Mum and Dad steal all the food for breakfast and take it upstairs."

Jem made a noise of agreement and continued staring into space.

"Hey, have you seen the post today?" Lily asked spraying Jem with crumbs.

"Huh? Oh, yeah." Jem picked up the post, which he had abandoned on the chair next to him, and gave it to her.

"Thanks." She took the bundle and flicked through them making small piles. The first pile was considerably larger than the second.

Lily finished sorting the letters and handed the first pile to Jem who looked confused.

"They're Valentines day cards…for you, dipstick." She started opening her own pile of cards leaving the croissant to go cold.

Jem flicked through them, looking for a familiar hand writing.

"He won't send you one." Lily commented when she realised what Jem was doing.

Jem sighed, "I know…" He opened the first card and set it on the table without even looking at who it was from.

After Lily had made her way through her pile of Valentines cards she was quite giggly.

"Ooh, he's a charmer." She commented setting down her last card. "Hey, have you seen Al today?"

"He went to spend the day with his girlfriend." Jem answered blankly.

"It's seven thirty in the morning."

"Yeah."

"Why'd he leave so early?"

"No idea."

"Jem?"

"Yeah?"

"When are you going to start acting like a normal human being again?"

*****

"That was great, Ted! I never knew you could cook!" Victoire finished off her salmon with pesto crust and set down her cutlery.

"Neither did I," Teddy smiled and set down his cutlery too. "Do you want to watch a movie? I got a selection of those soppy muggle films you like."

When Teddy and Victoire moved in they found that they what muggles called a television and DVD player. They'd fallen in love with it and were constantly watching movies and muggle day time TV.

"Yeah, sure." Victoire nodded and made the dirty dishes float over to the sink and start cleaning themselves. "What have you got?"

"Erm, a few." Teddy pulled a few small boxes out of a small plastic bag he'd abandoned by the door. "This one looks good. Love Actually."

"Sounds good. Put it in."

Teddy bent down and opened the DVD player and put the small disc in. He turned the TV on and sat down next to Victoire on the settee fingering the small box in the pocket of his jeans. It made him feel sick.

They sat in silence and watched the movie, Victoire enjoying it thoroughly. Teddy was running his plan over and over again in his mind. Get down, one knee, ask her. Get down, one knee, ask her. Get down, one knee…

When the movie ended Teddy panicked. It's now or never…

Teddy got down off the settee, pulling the small box out of his pocket. He kneeled down on one knee and opened the box to reveal a small diamond ring. He felt sick. He could do this. No he couldn't. But he had to!

Victoire gasped and slapped her hand to her mouth.

"Victoire-" Teddy started and his blood ran cold. He thought of Jem. He thought of how much he wanted him. He thought of what Jem's face would look like when he found out. "I-I-…"

"Yes?" Victoire asked breathlessly.

"Can't do this…" He stood up, dropping the small box on the floor. "Victoire, I'm so sorry…"

Victoire stared at the fallen box on the floor her eyes flooding with tears. She stood up and slapped Teddy, hard.

"WHY?! WHY CAN'T YOU DO IT?!" She screamed, tears rolling down her cheeks. "I THOUGHT YOU LOVED ME!"

For a second, she looked horrified and then her face turned red with rage.

"IS THERE SOMEONE ELSE?! THERE'S SOMEONE ELSE ISN'T THERE?!" She screamed in his face.

He gulped, his eyes also filling with tears. He nodded silently, a sob catching in his throat.

"WHO IS SHE?!" She slapped him again, this time leaving a mark. "WHAT'S HER NAME?!"

"James Potter…" Teddy muttered staring at the floor a tear falling to the ground.

Victoire stopped. She looked confused. Very confused.

"What?" Her voice was gentler, still threatening but not as.

"Victoire…I'm gay." Teddy took a deep breath in and another sob caught in his throat, his hair and eyes turning brown

Victoire stood and stared. She couldn't believe it. They'd been together for over five years. Teddy wasn't gay, he couldn't be.

"Get. Out." her face had turned red again and her cheeks were damp with tears. "Now."

"W-what?"

"I SAID GET OUT! GET OUT NOW!" She screamed pushing Teddy towards the door.

"Victoire, I-" Teddy started.

"I DON'T WANT EXCUSES!" She sobbed. "GET OUT!"

She opened the front door and pushed Teddy outside and slammed it in his face. Teddy banged on the door for half an hour, trying to reason with her before deciding it was no use. He'd have to find somewhere to stay for the night…but where?

He made a decision and apparated off into the night.


End file.
